By Jerry R. Spumberg
The DIY Coach
Choosing the work surfaces today that are installed on top of your base kitchen cabinets is not as easy as it was fifty years ago. The choice of patterns, textures, colors, and materials are almost infinite. This is all due to the ongoing introduction of new materials that are readily available to the consumer. Because of competition and technology, many materials that were once thought of as expensive luxury items have become more affordable and offer greater longevity of use that make them cost effective. Some experts say that there are no hard and fast rules in choosing materials, but I differ. As a builder, I know that sooner or later every home gets sold. We at The DIY Coach believe you could actually add more value than you spend if you are smart about picking the right countertops for your kitchen. To know more about this, I invite you to browse our blog www.thediycoachusa.com and www.remodelingreports.com.
The most important things to remember are the following:
- The cost should be within your budget.
- The trend of using more than one material for countertops can be dramatic, but the materials used should relate and enhance the functional use of the area and blend with the decor.
- Different colors of the same material can be used to designate or emphasize an area.
- Maintenance, resistance to hard use, reparability, and longevity should be considered against the cost and value added.
- There are two extreme ways of looking at a kitchen project; most clients fall in the middle:
- The kitchen is an important luxury item that we want our way regardless of cost
- We want to maximize the value added when we sell.
- Pick what you love, but be careful that you don’t pick something most people hate. It could hurt you when you go to sell.
I will discuss most of the materials that are used from Plastic Laminate (the one I grew up with), Wood (the oldest material used), Ceramic Tile, Solid-Surface material, Composite Materials, Stone, Concrete, and Stainless Steel.
Plastic Laminates
Plastic laminate, sometimes known by the brand name Formica, is relatively thin. It is made of several layers of melamine (paper and plastic resin under heat and pressure). The product does come in various grades and gauges, with some rugged enough for commercial store fixture applications. The material is then glued to particleboard, MDF, or plywood using contact cement. The tops install easily when properly made to fit the cabinets and walls. This is done by building a template that is used in the construction of the sub base that the plastic laminate will be applied to.
These countertops can be built by an experienced do it yourselfer who owns the right tools on site. If you don’t own the right tools or have a place to work, you would be best off using a fabrication shop that specializes in this product. (The cost of you purchasing the tools and tooling alone may cost more than the tops.) These fabrication shops are going to be much efficient than you because of their ability to purchase greater volumes of materials at a lower cost and manufacture in a shop with professional equipment. These shops not only do a large volume of business in counter tops, but also build residential and commercial cabinets and store fixtures using the same materials. When required or for my own use I have built these tops, but if cost was the determining factor and not time, I would have them made by a specialist. Many cabinet retailers have found it less expensive to use outsourced local plastic laminate fabricators than making the tops in house and so will you.
This countertop material gives you a choice of many colors, textures, and patterns. The decorative layer is quite thin, but has the ability to resist water, stains, very mild abrasion, and when the surface is in good condition, it is sanitary. To keep it clean, it is best to use a sponge with a mild detergent and water. The reason that this material is picked the most often is because it is inexpensive, even though its drawbacks include being easily chipped or scratched by ceramic pots, sharp or serrated knives, and scorched by a hot pot. In conditions of high humidity, it may also delaminate from the material it was glued to. When this top is heavily damaged, replacement may be the only option. If an edge becomes unglued, it can often be re-glued.
I grew up with plastic laminates that very often showed a tell tale black line along its edge. To eliminate this in the past, there was a method known as post forming where a thin laminate was bent around the backsplash and front edge. The problem with these tops was that they did not stand up to the same abuse the thicker materials could endure. Post formed countertops are still around today and exhibit many of the same problems as in the past. Very often, you can find them fully fabricated and stocked at big box retailers at an inexpensive price. Today, this reveling black line has been solved with a more expensive, solid core product where the color is the same thru the material. When the edges of this material are machined, there are no black lines to show.
The life expectance of this material is about 10 to 15 years unless it becomes damaged. Its appearance does decline with age but for the budget minded, it gives a large variety of choice to fit any décor.
Granite
I will be talking about other types of stone used for counter tops, but from my builder’s perspective, this is one of my favorites. When people see granite countertops in a kitchen, they think of it as a luxury upgrade. That is because at one time it was expensive and seen mostly in estate homes. Today’s reality is that it is only about 25% more than the higher end of plastic laminate. If you consider its longevity when properly taken care of, it can be the least expensive choice. In fact, it is one of the products that can add more value to your home than you spend when you include that consideration into your purchase.
The place to buy this product is from a reputable fabricator with a good track record. The use of computers and the machinery that they can run has changed the way this material is made. The equipment is expensive, but higher production that results in a better product at a lower cost has become today’s benchmark. Be wary of prices that seem to be too good to be true; there are different grades of stone slabs. Good fabricators only use the best. Defects that you may not be able to detect at first can be as significant as structural faults that will fail in the future or surface repairs that were made and can reappear later. In addition, a highly skilled installation is a must as well as the use of cabinets that can support the weight. If you buy through a Big Box home improvement store or a retailer of kitchen cabinets, expect to pay an additional markup over what a fabricator would charge. To learn more about buying, go to our blog at www.thediycoachusa.com-blog and read How Remodelers and Builders Buy Right. (It can be easily printed or down loaded by clicking on Remodeling Reports or going directly to www.remodelingreports.com .)
Besides the value mentioned above, Granite has many other qualities that has made it the most popular stone used. Homeowners and interior designers like it because it comes in a variety of rich colors that range from black, almost pure white, green, brown, gold, blue, yellow, violet, mauve and more. Its texture is visible crystalline and additional minerals and colors can be found in it. The endurance of granite is legendary in that it approaches the hardness of diamonds. It is almost non-porous and can be polished to a high finish if so desired. It is maintained simply by using a sealer as recommended by the manufacturer a few times a year, similar to using spray wax on wood furniture. For daily use, wipe it off with a damp sponge or towel. A word of caution: be careful leaving orange juice or other acidic materials on it for extended periods of time. It is a surface you can work on and leave a hot pot on without worry. It is also repairable in some cases by a skilled professional.
The range of cost for Granite can be as little as $40 to over $200 per square foot. The cost of Granite is based on several factors besides that of the quality issue mentioned previously. Granite comes from all over the world and so the cost of bringing it to us is a factor. Some Granite varieties are more common than others are and the competition between quarries in the market place controls the fabricators prices. Some of the most beautiful Granites are scarce or come from a particular quarry that sets whatever price they wish. Generally speaking, the cost has little to do with performance. There are many varieties of Granite that can fit into a tight budget. The same variety of Granite can be equal to but at a lower price from one fabricator to another because of whom they buy it from and the quantities they buy. Much of what I just said in the purchasing of Granite applies to the purchasing of other types of natural stone materials. You will also find that the fabricators of Granite also fabricate other solid surfaces materials.
Marble
One of the most classic of all stone materials is Marble. Like granite, it comes in a wide variety of colors and may have lovely veins running through it. As elegant as it is, it is also soft, porous, stains readily, and can be gouged. These characteristics make it the ideal material for sculpture. It is not very heat resistant. Water can leave a mark and oil will stain it easily. Never use plumbers putty with marble because it will stain it. That being said, this beautiful stone and its cool nature make it an excellent choice in a bake center. It must be properly sealed, kept clean, and chopping or slicing food on it should be avoided. However, if you appreciate and take care of it, it will serve you for a lifetime and take on character with age. You will find the cost within the same range as Granite with the high end on the lower side.
Limestone
Limestone is a stone that has fine graining and little veining when compared to marble. Its advantage over marble is that it resists heat much better, but otherwise exhibits similar characteristics and requires the same care. In light use areas it is chosen for its appearance and texture that can enhance a rustic look with its’ natural beauty. Its price range is between $55 to $110 per square foot.
Soapstone
Soapstone is a material that is imported, for the most part from Brazilian quarries. This rare and unique material commands a price. There are also fewer fabricators that work with this material and some work with no other. It is also known as steatite, which is composed of minerals such as talc, magnesite, chlorite, and dolomite. It still pays to shop and compare pricing and reputation as we have mentioned earlier, but realize that less competition means higher prices. You probably won’t find much about this material in books about kitchens. If you are interested in soapstone, I suggest a Google web search for soapstone that will lead you to fabricators websites. Many of them post excellent information about this material. For those of you where cost is less of an objection, it is worth your investigation.
Make sure that you are purchasing an architectural grade of soapstone rather than the much softer artistic grade. The architectural grade is denser than granite and the other stones I discussed earlier. It is nonporous which makes it is stain proof and reactant proof. It can be oiled to accelerate a natural darkening process, however the oil will not penetrate it. In the past and as well as now, it is used in chemical and scientific laboratories for countertops, sinks, and tiled floors. In today’s homes, it is used for countertops, integrated sinks, drain boards, and bathroom basins. Because it is unaffected by heat, you can find cookware, stoves, and fireplaces lined with it. It comes in different colors and may be cut and shaped without any special stone working equipment. This ability to be worked must be kept in mind when chopping or cutting.
In the kitchens that I have been involved in, areas that required foods being chopped or sliced used a different material or had a wood chopping surfaces stored nearby to be placed on the counter. In some cases, a pullout table from a base cabinet or included butcher-block table provided the chopping surface. The use of soapstone in these very serious kitchens provided a very sanitary work environment for a family where cooking was an art.
In “Kitchen Countertop Madness Part 2″, I will write about materials such as Composite Materials (quartz based), Solid- Surface, Ceramic and Stone Tile, Stainless Steel, Concrete, and Wood. If you have questions about what we covered so far, please send them to us and we will cover it in a future article. I also urge you to do your own research. Kitchens are a significant purchase. You will find different points of views by knowledgeable experts as well as misinformation by others.
May the Coach be with you,
Coach Jerry
